Palais des congrès de Paris

The Palais des congrès de Paris presents a sheer, concave facade of dark glass and steel that slices through the seventeenth arrondissement. Opened in nineteen seventy-four, this structure replaced a nineteenth-century military fortification with a massive venue designed to host international conventions and concerts. Architect Guillaume Gillet faced a difficult requirement to build over the Périphérique ring road. He used a suspension system to hang the main hall above the traffic, allowing vehicles to flow underneath the convention center without disruption.